Lara Croft, Tomb Raider:: Legend of the Shinzaho
by Nuriri
Summary: Lara is on an expedition to find the legendary artifact known as Shinzaho. Her journey will take her to many places such as, the great wall, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo and Malaysia! Also some old characters will pop up again with a vengeance.Please R
1. Blocked

The helicopter was flying over the Great Wall of China. Legend told of an ancient artefact buried deep within the rock and mortar of the wall itself.

Lara heard of this myth and flew to China the next morning. With her previous adventure at the great wall, Lara was well aware of the dangers and traps she faced.

"Thank you, Jin! I will see you tomorrow at the latest." Lara shouted to her pilot, before grappling down to the wall.

The area she had landed in was a cavern beside the wall. A small opening in the wall was visible from where Lara was standing.

"Looks like a way in." Lara said to herself, proceeding forwards.

Taking her pistols from her holsters, she cautiously made her way through the rocks and vines that were scattered about the cavern.

"Looks a lot smaller than it did a moment ago…Oh well, what's an ancient cult sight without any doors?" She said, before putting away her pistols and crawling through the nearby crack at the bottom of the wall.

The tunnel was cramped for space and full of rats and cobwebs. But soon Lara emerged in a large temple structure.

"Now THIS, is what I came here to see." Lara exclaimed. "It's beautiful!"

The structure was of great height and was lined with statues of warriors holding various weapons.

Lara walked down the long hallway, looking at the statues with amazement. At the end of the corridor was a large set of doors, engraved with three indentations.

"Three keys must be needed…God only knows where they might have gotten to in the past thousand years!" Lara said, running her hands over the indentations.

The room suddenly shook and a pile of rock blocked off the entry way.

Lara sighed. "Guess I'll have to find another way out…"

There happened to be a side door to the left of Lara. It did seem suspicious but Lara needed to find her way out of this place.

The side door was small but Lara fitted through nicely. She came out in a long hallway, lined with spikes on the ceiling and walls. Cautiously walking along the floor, Lara stepped on a plate which activated the usual trap.

Lara began to sweat and was hurriedly thinking up an escape plan. Just then Lara spotted a crack at the bottom of the far wall.

And with that Lara sprinted for the gap and slid along the stone floor to safety. Growling awaited Lara on the other side.

"Oh god…" Lara sighed.

Taking her guns out of the holsters, Lara back flipped away from the approaching tiger and shot for the beats head.

The tiger was hit in the side and retaliated by scratching Lara on her left arm.

"Ah!!" Lara screamed.

Lara looked up and shot the tiger right between the eyes.

"Ah…" Lara muttered, holding her wound.

"Lara to Jin, Lara to Jin. I wasn't able to gain access to the inner sanctum of the temple but I will now start my search for the keys. Pick me up as soon as possible please." Lara muttered into her ear piece.


	2. Shinzaho

Lara walked into the main entrance hall of croft manor, Winston greeting her with a "Hello Lady Croft" and a cup of tea.

"Winston. Could you research an artefact for me? It goes by the name of the Shinzaho. After my ordeal at the great wall yesterday I'm guessing I'll need some information on where to find these keys." Lara explained.

"Why of course, Lady Croft, I'll do what I can to help." A smiling Winston replied, before walking upstairs to the Library.

Lara was momentarily alone in the main hall. Minutes went past while she relaxed on the leather sofas under the gaze of her mother and father.

"Don't worry Mother…I'm working on it…" Lara muttered sadly, while looking up at her parent's portrait above the fireplace.

"I better go check up on Winston." Lara said quietly to herself, before walking up the staircase and into the library.

Winston was sat at the computer desk, surrounded by books and fixing his gaze onto the screen.

"Winston, have you found anything out about the three keys?" Lara asked, eagerly.

Winston looked up from the monitor.

"Yes in fact I have m'lady." He replied. "Come, there is an article on the artefact on the Tokyo museum of cultural history site.

"Ah. Then I guess I'll have to bargain with the curator…" Lara said.

_The __shinzaho__, in Chinese myth was said to bestow great power onto the owner, but only upon obtaining the relics of the four beast gods. __Byakko__Seiyruu__Suzaku__ and __Genbu__ The __Shinzaho__ was originally placed deep under the great wall but due to grave robbers was moved by the __xiaolin__ monks to a safer position. Though this mythical artefact has never been found, three mysterious other artefacts were discovered in the temple of the __Shinzaho__They are believed to be keys to unlocking __the many secrets of the temple but one of which is now in the care of the Tokyo museum of cultural history. _

"So it looks like I'm going to Tokyo then?" Lara asked Winston.

"I believe it is, Lady Croft. I shall pack your things immediately. Shall I ring Toru Nishimura to prepare an accommodation?" Winston replied, getting up off the chair.

"Yes please. And please contact Zip, I may be needing him if I can't get a hold of the key.

"I shall, Lady Croft." Winston replied, walking out of the library.

"I just hope the Japanese are negotiable when it comes to mystical artefacts…" Lara said with a sigh.


	3. Arrival in Tokyo

The plane came to a halt at the airport. Lara stepped out of the door, looking up into the night sky. It was a while since Lara's last visit to Tokyo and things had changed quite a bit since then.

Walking through to the baggage, recollection area, she noticed a few men in black suits and sun glasses keeping an eye out for a certain bag.

They soon grabbed a suit case, holding it very carefully. There was something very peculiar about those men.

Lara watched the men leave the area, before walking up to the conveyor and grabbing her suitcase.

A muffled tone was coming from her handbag, playing a slow classical tone while vibrating violently. Lara picked out her cell phone and held it to her ear.

"Hello, Lara Croft." Lara said, casually.

"Lara san, was your flight pleasant?" A voice replied in a cheery tone.

"Hello there, Nishimura san. Yes it was very enjoyable indeed." Lara replied, taking a seat in the main reception.

"I am pleased to hear that. There is a limousine awaiting you outside the airport, I have arranged it to take you to the finest hotel in Tokyo." Nishimura explained.

"Why thank you Nishimura san, I will meet up with you Wednesday morning in your office?" Lara said, looking around and spotting the limo outside.

"Hai, I will see you then, please, enjoy the rest of your day, I'm sure you are tired after your flight. You deserve another day to get settled in." Nishimura said.

"I will, Ja ne." Lara said, ending the call and proceeding out the door to the limo.

"Lady Croft, I will be your chauffeur for your stay in Tokyo, please take a seat and we will arrive at your hotel in a matter of minutes" The driver said, opening the side door for Lara.

"Why thank you, I'll be sure to leave a handsome tip." Lara said with a smile, stepping inside the suave black limo.

The door closed and Lara was left in a beautiful stretch with a mini bar and TV. Lara pressed the button to her right and the mini bar served an ice cold glass of champagne and held it out to Lara with a robotic arm.

Lara smiled and grabbed the glass and sipped it while looking out the window. Sky scrapers towered above the limo, with people hurrying about their business.

"Lady Croft, welcome to the hotel Futuristico, I am sure you will enjoy it here." The driver said, stopping the car and opening the door for Lara.

"Thank you oh so very much, here, buy yourself a drink." Lara said, handing the driver a million yen note and pulling her luggage into the hotel's interior.

A fountain with blue floor lights greeted Lara as she walked through the lobby and over to the front desk.

"Konnichiwa, my name is Lara Croft, there is a reservation under my name?" Lara said to the lady at the computer.

The receptionist typed a few things into her computer and looked up.

"Lady Croft, welcome to the hotel Futuristico, here is your room card, sixth floor room six hundred and twelve. Please enjoy your stay in Tokyo." She said with a smile, handing Lara a cardkey.

Lara nodded and walked towards the glass elevator. Pushing the sixth floor button, Lara looked at her cardkey, it was plastic and clear blue with the hotel's logo and room details.

"Yes I think this place will do." Lara said, as the lift sped up the levels. Tokyo could be seen underneath the sunset, its lights, dazzling Lara.

The lift stopped and the doors opened onto a lobby area with sofas and several hallways. The sign on the wall read "1-12" Lara grabbed her suitcase and walked along, keeping her eye out for her door.

"Here we go, number twelve." She muttered. The door funnily enough read 'presidential suite'. Lara laughed at this, slotting her cardkey into the door knob, making a 'click' noise and the door opened.

"Oh, wow!" Lara said, admiring the room.

The room, as the door read, was the presidential suite. It had a beautiful city view, a sunken lounge area, a mini bar, a few large pillars with glowing blue water were scattered around as well as a bathroom and a master bedroom, on the other side of the room.

Lara walked towards the bedroom area and sat down on the bed. The bed was a double bed, with blue linen sheets and white fluffy pillows.

Letting out a deep sigh, Lara lay back on the bed, kicking off her heels.

The room service phone line was sat next to the bed on a blue glass table. Lara picked it up and dialled the number.

"Hello room service? I'd like to order a dinner, can you send up a menu?" Lara said into the phone.

"Indeed we can, Lady Croft, we will send anything else up also?" The man on the other end asked.

"Hmmm…I think I'll order one large sake, and one hell of a massage for eight o, clock later." Lara replied, lying back on the bed.

The phone was cut dead and Lara was left on her bed. A few minutes later, the door knocked. Lara opened it up to receive a menu.

"Your menu, Lady Croft, please may I recommend the takoyaki and the teriyaki beef, it is the chefs honour to cook for such a renowned figure in society." The man said, handing Lara the menu.

Lara flicked through the menu. "I will have the takoyaki and sushi for starters, the teriyaki beef and chicken chowmein for the main course, anmitsu with custard for desert and a glass of pink champagne please, can you have it sent up here in about an hour?" Lara said, handing the man back the menu.

"Indeed, Lady Croft, I shall have your food ready by one hour." The man said before hurrying back down to the first floor.

Lara closed the door and slipped off her dress, walking into the bathroom, she was amazed by what greeted her.

The semi-circular shower was large and clean, with a metallic shower head and blue glass, the bath was huge with a Jacuzzi function and an assortment of soaps and bubble baths.

"I love Tokyo." Lara said, slipping off her underwear and stepping into the shower.

The dinner had arrived by the time Lara had finished her shower, as expected, the food was scrumptious, never in her life had Lara tasted such delicacies at such high quality.

Sending her plate down the service lift, Lara lay down on her bed and slept the night away.

Morning arrived and Lara had nothing to do but check out the museum.

"Lady Croft, where shall I drive you today?" The driver asked, opening the limo door for Lara.

"To the museum of Asian culture, if you please, and here buy yourself another drink." Lara said, handing the driver ten thousand and climbed into the car.

The museum wasn't crowded but had a few parents and old people, wandering about aimlessly, looking at all the amazing work.

Lara walked up to the receptionist at the main desk.

"Gomenasai, I would like to enquire about an artefact in the care of this museum, it was recovered from the temple of the beast gods below the great wall" Lara held up a photograph. "This is what it looks like and I have information that it is here."

The receptionist looked up and typed something in on her computer.

"The artefact in question is on the second floor in the department of Chinese recovered relics." The receptionist said, looking up through black rimmed glasses.

Lara nodded in thanks and walked up the main stairwell and into the section of Chinese recovered relics. The key caught Lara's eye immediately upon entering the long hallway, it was in a large glass case, and it was as described in the article on the webpage.

"…The key…" Lara muttered, placing her hand on the glass. "I have to find someway of getting this. I don't think the Curator is going to be too pleased though.." She whispered, taking her hand off the glass and hurrying down the stairs.

Lara arrived back at the hotel, kicking off her heels, she punched in Nishimura's number into the phone in her room.

"Moshi moshi, Nishimura Toru san desu" Nishimura said on the other end.

"Nishimura san, I have located the artefact in the museum, the curator won't be too happy about me stealing this to get into the temple, but there are still three outstanding. Have you any ideas?" Lara explained, picking up her book on Chinese mythology.

"I'm not sure Lara san, I heard that in Hong Kong, they have recently received a number of mysterious relics from the area of the great wall, maybe the two are with them?" Nishimura suggested, flicking through several webpage's him self.

"Right then, I'll need to get in contact with Zip. Most likely he'll know how to get into the museum tomorrow, are we still meeting tomorrow morning?" Lara said.

"Gomen Lara, I have several meetings and I will not be able to meet you." Nishimura said.

"It's alright, until then, ja ne." Lara said before hanging up the phone.

Lara went to sleep and woke up the next morning, feeling relaxed. Taking a quick shower, she headed downstairs to the lobby.

"Why hello there Zip, I didn't expect you to show up at my hotel" Lara said to the man sitting in the lobby reading the paper.

"Well I thought you needed a techno freak to help you out on this one, too bad I'm not that, I'm a computer expert." Zip explained, putting down the paper and standing up.

"Ok so if you'll take me to your room I'll show you the stuff we'll be workin' with." Zip said, cracking his neck.

"All right, this way." Lara said before walking towards the glass elevator.

"So what's the low down on the situation?" Lara asked, looking out through the glass.

Zip took out a small laptop device and flipped the screen up.

"The Japanese aren't like the Americans. They can do anything they want with machines so you better be careful girl." Zip said, flipping his laptop back down.

"I am aware of that." Lara said quietly.

The pair walked down the corridor and entered room twelve. Lara sat down on one of the sofa's facing Zip.

Zip opened up his briefcase to reveal an assortment of intriguing weapons.

"Ok so here are all the weapons you'll be using, first there's the modified 9mm pistols." Zip explained.

"Basic equipment." Lara interrupted.

"Then we've got the dart gun in case the guards are one too many, and of course, the grappling hook, any questions?" Zip explained, closing the case and putting his feet up on the table.

"One, can you tell me how am I going to get into the museum?" Lara asked, opening up the briefcase and examining the pistols.

"That's where I come in handy." Zip said. "You can get in from the roof, I'm sure Nishimura can hook you up with a copter, there's a ventilation duct connecting the roof and the fifth floor, you can use that but be careful there are some…obstacles. So on every floor containing a high value relic there's just gonna be some kinda ensured protection. I'm talkin' about laser grids, guards, gun turrets and motion and heat sensors, this is really gonna put yo stealth to the test." Zip explained, opening up his laptop and placing it on the table.

"So they're not going to part with he key so easily?" Lara went on.

"Whaddya expect? Why else would they put laser grids and gun turrets on every floor?" Zip shouted, pointing to the hazards on the screen.

"So… you are going to fix me up with something to wear?" Lara asked with a smile.

Zip grinned and opened up another compartment.

"This is something you're gonna like. It's a pitch black cat suit, undetectable and you can move about in it like you're naked." Zip explained with a laugh.

Lara rolled her eyes and looked out the window.

"And here we've hooked you up infrared goggles, hang glider, accessible from your backpack, and a communicator so we can keep in touch at all times also allowing me to see what you see." Zip explained, taking out the goggles to show Lara.

"This will do nicely Zip. So if you'll let me try these things on I'd be happy if you'd leave." Lara said, getting up and opening the door.

Zip got up from his chair and grabbed his laptop.

"G'luck, you'll need it." He said, walking out the door.

"Don't worry Zip. I've got everything under control.


End file.
